SFF Global FinTech Awards

Julie Sweet is chief executive officer of Accenture and serves on the company’s board of directors.

Prior to becoming CEO in September 2019, Julie served as chief executive officer of Accenture’s business in North America, the company’s largest geographic market. Previously, she was Accenture’s general counsel, secretary and chief compliance officer for five years. Prior to joining Accenture in 2010, Julie was a partner for 10 years in the law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP.

Outside of Accenture, Julie is a leader on topics including innovation, technology’s impact on business, and inclusion and diversity. She is a member of the World Economic Forum's International Business Council, the Business Roundtable and the TechNet Executive Council. Julie also serves on the board of directors for Catalyst, the board of trustees for the Center for Strategic & International Studies and the board of trustees for the Marriott Foundation for People with Disabilities - Bridges from School to Work. In 2019, she was named to FORTUNE’s list of “Most Powerful Women” for the fourth consecutive year.

Julie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Claremont McKenna College and a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School.

Vitalik is the creator of Ethereum, the most popular protocol in blockchain. He first discovered blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies through Bitcoin in 2011, and was immediately excited by the technology and its potential. He cofounded Bitcoin Magazine in September 2011, and after two and a half years looking at what the existing blockchain technology and applications had to offer, wrote the Ethereum white paper in November 2013. He now leads Ethereum's research team, working on future versions of the Ethereum protocol.

Vinod Khosla is an entrepreneur, investor, and technology fan. He is the founder of Khosla Ventures, focused on impactful technology investments in software, AI, robotics, 3D printing, healthcare and more. Mr. Khosla was a co-founder of Daisy systems and founding CEO of Sun Microsystems where he pioneered open systems and commercial RISC processors. One of Mr. Khosla’s greatest passions is being a mentor to entrepreneurs, assisting entrepreneurs and helping them build technology-based businesses. Mr. Khosla is driven by the desire to make a positive impact through technology to reinvent societal infrastructure and multiply resources. He is also passionate about Social Entrepreneurship. Vinod holds a Bachelor of Technology in Electrical Engineering from IIT, New Delhi, a Master's in Biomedical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Agustín Carstens became General Manager of the BIS on 1 December 2017.
Mr Carstens was Governor of the Bank of Mexico from 2010 to 2017. A member of the BIS Board from 2011 to 2017, he was chair of the Global Economy Meeting and the Economic Consultative Council from 2013 until 2017. He also chaired the International Monetary and Financial Committee, the IMF's policy advisory committee from 2015 to 2017.
Mr Carstens began his career in 1980 at the Bank of Mexico. From 1999 to 2000, he was Executive Director at the IMF. He later served as Mexico’s deputy finance minister (2000–03) and as Deputy Managing Director at the IMF (2003–06). He was Mexico's finance minister from 2006 to 2009.
Mr Carstens has been a member of the Financial Stability Board since 2010 and is a member of the Group of Thirty.
Mr Carstens holds an MA and a PhD in economics from the University of Chicago.

Arianna Huffington is the founder of The Huffington Post, the founder and CEO of Thrive Global, and the author of 15 books, including, most recently, Thrive and The Sleep Revolution. In May 2005, she launched The Huffington Post, a news and blog site that quickly became one of the most widely-read, linked to, and frequently-cited media brands on the Internet. In August 2016, she launched Thrive Global, a corporate and consumer well-being and productivity platform with the mission of changing the way we work and live by ending the collective delusion that burnout is the price we must pay for success. She has been named to Time Magazine's list of the world's 100 most influential people and the Forbes Most Powerful Women list. Originally from Greece, she moved to England when she was 16 and graduated from Cambridge University with an M.A. in economics.
Time: 21:20 - 22:00
Topic: Milken Institute: Thriving: A Conversation with Arianna Huffington

Michael Miebach, President of Mastercard, is responsible for overseeing the sales, marketing, products, services, and technology organizations for the company. Mastercard’s Board unanimously elected Michael to succeed Ajay Banga as Chief Executive Officer on January 1, 2021.

Michael brings deep expertise in digital innovation, emerging technologies, regulation, fintech, and financial services to forge innovative partnerships across the ecosystem. He has a wealth of insights and global experience from a 25-year career spanning payments and banking services and technology.

As Chief Product Officer, Michael helped transform the company’s offerings from consumer cards to providing a variety of multi-rail payment solutions. Michael has been a key driver in developing and executing the strategy to evolve and diversify Mastercard, leading the acquisition of Vocalink and the pending transaction with Nets--to address a broader set of payment flows.

His collaborative approach creates scalable and trusted solutions for the exchange of payments and data towards a more inclusive digital economy where everyone is connected, and everyone can thrive.

He previously led Mastercard across the Middle East and Africa and held senior roles at both Barclays Bank and Citibank.

He is a member of the digital advisory council of Fannie Mae, which makes sustainable homeownership and workforce rental housing a reality for millions of Americans, and a member of the Board of Directors for the nonprofit Accion which gives people across the world the financial tools and services they need to prosper. Both roles give Michael the opportunity to pursue his passion for bringing more people greater opportunities in the formal economy. Michael is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Ronald McDonald House New York City, a charity that offers vital resources and compassionate care to children and their families being treated by the world’s leading pediatric cancer hospitals.

Michael holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Passau in Germany. He lives with his family in New York.

As President and CEO, Dan Schulman is focused on democratizing and transforming financial services and e-commerce to improve the financial health of billions of people, families and businesses around the world. With extensive experience in payments and mobile technology, Dan is leading PayPal to reimagine how people move and manage money, and how merchants and consumers interact and transact. Under Dan’s leadership, PayPal has been named as one of the top companies on JUST Capital’s and Forbes’ JUST 100 list, featuring “companies doing right by America”. PayPal has also been recognized as a Fortune Change the World company for its work to tackle the biggest challenges facing society today.

Dan is the recipient of the 2017 Brennan Legacy Award, established to honor the Supreme Court justice and his career-long commitment to social justice and “common human dignity”. The Council for Economic Education named Dan as its 2017 Visionary for promoting economic and financial literacy to create a better-informed society. He was also honored with the Financial Health Network’s inaugural Visionary Award in 2018 for his commitment to improving the financial lives of people around the world. In 2019, Dan was recognized by Endeavor Global with the High-Impact Leader of the Year Award for his work to support entrepreneurs around the globe. Rutgers University bestowed upon Dan an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, and he also delivered the University’s 252nd anniversary commencement speech.

For three consecutive years, Dan has been recognized by Fortune as one of the top 20 Businesspersons of the Year. He has also been named one of the top 100 Most Creative People by Fast Company, and in 2019, named one of Glassdoor's Top 50 CEOs. In addition, he has been recognized as one of the top 10 Most Innovative CEOs in Banking.

Dan previously served as Group President at American Express. Prior to joining American Express, Dan was President of the Prepaid Group at Sprint Nextel Corporation following its acquisition of Virgin Mobile USA, Inc., where he led the company as its founding CEO for eight years. Earlier in his career, Dan was President and CEO of Priceline Group, Inc., where he led the company through a period of rapid growth and expansion. He also spent 18 years at AT&T, where he held a series of positions, including President of the Consumer Markets Division.

Dan is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves as Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum’s Steering Committee to promote global financial inclusion. He also serves on the Board of Governors and Board of Stewards for the World Economic Forum’s Future of Financial & Monetary Systems platform. In addition, Dan is a board member of Verizon Communications, Inc. He also serves on the boards of Autism Speaks and The Economic Club of New York. He previously served as Non-Executive Chairman of NortonLifeLock (formerly Symantec Corporation).

He earned a BA from Middlebury College and an MBA from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business. Dan is an avid mixed martial arts practitioner.

Kristalina Georgieva is the Managing Director of the IMF since October 1, 2019.

She was CEO of the World Bank from January 2017 to September 2019, during which time she also served as Interim President for three months.

Previously, Ms. Georgieva served as European Commission Vice President for Budget and Human Resources and as Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response.

From 1993 to 2010, she held a number of senior positions at the World Bank, including as Vice President and Corporate Secretary in 2008, and as Director for Sustainable Development, Director for the Russian Federation (based in Moscow), Director for Environment, and Director for Environment and Social Development for the East Asia and Pacific Region.

Born in Sofia, Bulgaria, she holds a Ph.D. in Economic Science and a M.A. in Political Economy and Sociology from the University of National and World Economy, Sofia, where she was an Associate Professor between 1977 and 1993. She also was visiting fellow at the London School of Economics and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Laurence D. Fink is Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BlackRock, Inc. He and seven partners founded BlackRock in 1988, and under his leadership, the firm has grown into a global leader in investment and technology solutions to help investors build better financial futures. Today, BlackRock is trusted to manage more money than any other investment firm in the world. Mr. Fink has been named one of the "World's Greatest Leaders" by Fortune, and Barron’s has named him one of the "World's Best CEOs" for 14 consecutive years.

Prior to founding BlackRock in 1988, Mr. Fink was a member of the Management Committee and a Managing Director of The First Boston Corporation.

He serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of New York University (NYU) and the World Economic Forum, and is Co-Chairman of the NYU Langone Medical Center Board of Trustees. In addition, he serves on the boards of the Museum of Modern Art and the Council on Foreign Relations. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management in Beijing and on the Executive Committee of the Partnership for New York City.

Mr. Fink earned an MBA with a concentration in real estate from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1976 and a BA in political science from UCLA in 1974.

Jane Fraser is the President of Citi and the Chief Executive Officer of Global Consumer Banking. She is a member of Citi’s Board of Directors, and she will succeed Mike Corbat as Citi’s Chief Executive Officer in February 2021. She will be the first female CEO in the firm’s history. Jane is a member of the Citi Executive Management Team, serves as Co-Chair of the Citi Women Affinity Group and is Head of Citi’s North America Crisis Management response to COVID-19.

As CEO of the Global Consumer Bank, Jane is responsible for all of Citi’s Consumer businesses, including Retail Banking and Wealth Management, Credit Cards, Mortgage and Operations and Technology in 19 markets.

Before this role, she was the Chief Executive Officer of Citigroup Latin America from 2015 to 2019. From 2013 to 2015, she was the Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Consumer and Commercial Banking and CitiMortgage. From 2009 to 2013, Jane served as the Chief Executive Officer of Citi's Global Private Bank. Prior, Jane was the Global Head of Strategy and Mergers & Acquisitions for Citi from 2007 to 2009. She joined Citi in 2004 in the Corporate and Investment Banking division.

Prior to joining Citi, Jane was a Partner at McKinsey & Company. She started her career at Goldman Sachs in the Mergers & Acquisitions department in London and then worked for Asesores Bursátiles in Madrid, Spain.

She is a member of the Board of Directors of Citibanamex, the Board of Dean’s Advisors, Harvard Business School, the Stanford Global Advisory Board and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Jane has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and an M.A. in economics from Cambridge University. Jane is married with two children.

Satya Nadella is Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft. Before being named CEO in February 2014, Nadella held leadership roles in both enterprise and consumer businesses across the company.

Joining Microsoft in 1992, he quickly became known as a leader who could span a breadth of technologies and businesses to transform some of Microsoft’s biggest product offerings.

Most recently, Nadella was executive vice president of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise group. In this role he led the transformation to the cloud infrastructure and services business, which outperformed the market and took share from competition. Previously, Nadella led R&D for the Online Services Division and was vice president of the Microsoft Business Division. Before joining Microsoft, Nadella was a member of the technology staff at Sun Microsystems.

Originally from Hyderabad, India, Nadella lives in Bellevue, Washington. He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Mangalore University, a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago. Nadella serves on the board of trustees to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and his alma mater the University of Chicago, as well as the Starbucks board of directors. He is married and has three children.

Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern is the 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand & Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was born in the city of Hamilton, New Zealand, and grew up rurally. She attended high school before graduating from the University of Waikato with a Bachelor of Communication Studies in Politics and Public Relations.

Post-university, she worked as an advisor in the office of then-Prime Minister Helen Clark, in London for the Government Cabinet Office and as an Assistant Director in the Department for Business and Enterprise, and on a review of Policing in England and Wales.

The Prime Minister joined the New Zealand Labour Party at age 18 and entered New Zealand’s Parliament in 2008. Over her twelve years as a representative she has been a strong advocate for children, women, and the right of every New Zealander to have meaningful work.

She became the MP for the Auckland electorate Mt Albert in early 2017, and the Leader of the Labour Party in August 2017. As well as Prime Minister, she holds the roles of Minister for National Security and Intelligence, and Minister for Child Poverty Reduction, an issue particularly close to her heart. She is also the Minister Responsible for Ministerial Services and Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage.

Bill Gates is co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Along with co-chair Melinda Gates, he shapes and approves grantmaking strategies, advocates for the foundation’s issues, and helps set the overall direction of the organization.

Bill and Melinda Gates work together to expand opportunity to the world’s most disadvantaged people by collaborating with grantees and partners. They also participate in national and international events and travel extensively to focus attention on the issues the foundation champions.

Bill began his major philanthropic efforts in 1994, when he created the William H. Gates Foundation, which focused on global health. Three years later, he and Melinda created the Gates Library Foundation, which worked to bring public access computers with Internet connections to libraries in the United States. Its name changed to the Gates Learning Foundation in 1999 to reflect its focus on ensuring that low-income minority students are prepared for college and have the means to attend. In 2000, to increase efficiency and communication, the two groups merged into the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

In 1975, Gates left Harvard University in his junior year to focus on Microsoft, the company he founded with his childhood friend Paul Allen. As chief software architect and chairman, Bill led the company to become the worldwide leader in business and personal software, services, and solutions. In July 2008, Gates transitioned into a new role as chairman of Microsoft and advisor on some key development projects.

He is a member of the board of directors of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Gates grew up in Seattle with his two sisters. His father, William H. Gates Sr. (d. 2020), was a co-chair of the foundation and an attorney. His late mother, Mary Gates, was a schoolteacher, University of Washington regent, and chairwoman of United Way International. The Gateses have three children.